Leandro Dênis Battirola

Terrestrial arthropods from tree canopies in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Terrestrial arthropods from tree canopies in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, Brazil. This study represents a contribution to the knowledge of the diversity of arthropods associated to the canopy of Vochysia divergens Pohl (Vochysiaceae). Three trees individuals were sampled during two seasonal periods in this region: a) by spraying one tree canopy during high water (February); b) by fogging two tree canopies during low water (September/October). The 15,744 arthropods (183.2±38.9 individuals/m2) obtained from all three trees (86 m2) represented 20 taxonomic orders, 87.1% were Insecta, and 12.9% Arachnida. The dominant groups were Hymenoptera (48.5%; 88.9 individuals/m2), mostly Formicidae (44.5%; 81.4 individuals/m2), followed by Coleoptera (14.0%; 25.5 individuals/m2) and Araneae (10.2%; 19.5 individuals/m2), together representing 62.5% of the total catch. Fourteen (70%) of all orders occurred on three trees. Dermaptera, Isoptera, Neuroptera, Odonata, Plecoptera and Trichoptera were collected from only one tree. Of the total, 2,197 adult Coleoptera collected (25.5±11.3 individuals/m2), 99% were assigned to 32 families and 256 morphospecies. Nitidulidae (17.9% of the total catch; 4.6 individuals/m2), Anobiidae (16.7%; 4.3 individuals/m2), Curculionidae (13.2%; 3.4 individuals/m2) and Meloidae (11.4%; 2.9 individuals/m2) dominated. The communitiy of adult Coleoptera on V. divergens indicated a dominance of herbivores (37.8% of the total catch, 127 spp.) and predators (35.2%, 82 spp.), followed by saprophages (16.2%, 32 spp.) and fungivores (10.8%, 15 spp.). The influence of the flood pulse on the community of arboreal arthropods in V. divergens is indicated by the seasonal variation in evaluated groups, causing changes in their structure and composition.

Comunidade de artrópodes associada à copa de Attalea phalerata Mart. (Arecaceae) durante o período de cheia no Pantanal de Poconé, MT

Six trees of the palm species Attalea phalerata Mart. were sampled during high water (aquatic phase) of the Pantanal of Mato Grosso (February 2001), by canopy fogging. The composition, structure, and biomass of the arthropod community associated with their canopies were analysed, as well as the influence the flood pulse renders on it. Each tree was fogged once, followed by three consecutive collections. A total of 63,657 arthropods (643.0 ± 259.87 ind/m2) were collected, representing 25 orders in the classes Insecta, Arachnida, Diplopoda and Crustacea. The dominant groups were Acari (40.0%; 257.2 ± 116.50 ind./m2), Coleoptera (12.0%; 77.5 ± 64.93 ind./m2), Psocoptera (9.2%; 59.0 ± 38.00 ind./m2), Diptera (8.4%; 54.1 ± 18.72 ind./m2), Collembola (8.3%; 53.4 ± 26.24 ind./m2) and Hymenoptera (7.9%; 50.6 ± 21.40 ind./m2), the latter mostly represented by Formicidae (49.2%). Arthropod biomass amounted to 8.86 g dry weight and 0.18 mg/m2. Coleoptera, Blattodea, Orthoptera, Araneae and Hymenoptera were the most representative taxa. The hydrological regime (flood pulse), as well as seasonality, appear to strongly affect the composition and structure of this canopy community.

The Importance of Amazonian Floodplain Forests for Animal Biodiversity: Beetles in Canopies of Floodplain and Upland Forests

Thirty-one years ago T.L. Erwin, J. Adis and G.G. Montgomery obtained about 50,000 arthropods by fogging the canopy with natural pyrethrum along transects in four forest types of Central Amazonia. A first study of nearly 5,000 adult Coleoptera specimens indicated a low similarity of beetle species between forest types and a predominance of herbivores (Erwin 1983). This material has now been restudied to allow an ecological comparison in more detail.